Method and apparatus for arranging an article of laundry to a planar form

ABSTRACT

A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ARRANGING A FLEXIBLE ARTICLE, SUCH AS A TOWEL, NAPKIN, SHEET OR THE LIKE, WHICH IS HEAPED IN RANDOM CONFIGURATION, TO A SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR FORM. THE METHOD AND APPARATUS INCLUDES HOLDING THE ARTICLE AT A POINT OF SINGLE THICKNESS AND APPLYING A CURRENT OF AIR ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE IN ALL RADIAL DIRECTIONS FROM THE HOLDING POINT. THE FLOW OF THE CURRENT OF AIR OVER THE SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE COMPLETELY UNFOLDS THE ARTICLE UNTIL THE ARTICLE LIES IN SUBSTANTIALLY A SINGLE PLANE.

Feb. 23, 1971 BATZDQRFF EI'AL 3,564,738

METHOD AND APPARATUS FORARRANGING AN ARTICLE OF LAUNDRY TO A PLANAR FORM Filed March 6, 1969' fi fi-Ahj IIVVEIVTORS. ALFRED 'BATZDORFF AMOTZ FRE/V/(EL ATTORNEY United States. Patent 01 C6 3,564,738 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ARRANGING AN ARTICLE OF LAUNDRY TO A PLANAR FORM Alfred Batzdorlf, Neshaminy Woods, Langhorne, and Amotz Freukel, Lansdale, Pa., assignors to American Electronic Laboratories, Inc., Colmar, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 6, 1969, Ser. No. 804,889 Int. Cl. D06c 3/00 D06f 67/04 U.S. Cl. 38-143 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and apparatus for arranging a flexible article, such as a towel, napkin, sheet or the like, which is heaped in random configuration, to a substantially planar form. The method and apparatus includes holding the article at a point of single thickness and applying a current of air across the surface of the article in all radial directions from the holding point. The flow of the current of air over the surface of the article completely unfolds the article until the article lies in substantially a single plane.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for arranging a flexible article, such as an article of laundry, which is heaped in random configuration, to a substantially planar form, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically rearranging individual articles of laundry to planar form.

In a commercial laundry when the pieces of laundry are taken from the washer or dryer, many such pieces, such as towels, napkins, sheets, tablecloths and the like, must be arranged in planar form in order to permit folding or ironing of the pieces. Heretofore, arranging the individual pieces of laundry in planar form has been carried out manually by either the operator who folds the piece or by the operator who irons the piece. Such manual handling of the individual pieces of laundry is both a time consuming and costly operation. In addition, it slows down any following operations which must be performed on the pieces of laundry. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus which automatically arranges the individual pieces of laundry into planar form so as to improve the operation of the laundry.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel method for arranging articles of laundry into planar form.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for arranging articles of laundry which are heaped in individual piles of random configuration into planar form.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for automatically arranging heaped articles of laundry into planar form.

These objects are achieved by a method and apparatus in which articles of laundry which are heaped in random configuration in piles of single pieces are arranged into planar form. For this purpose each article is held at a point of single thickness, and a current of air is then applied across the surfaces of the article, which current of air emanates from the point that the article is held and which flows radially in all directions from the holding point. The air flowing over the surfaces of the article arranges the article into planar form. The flow of air is then stopped and the article released so that it is now in planar form and ready for further processing.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawing a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

3,564,738 Patented Feb. 23, 1971 FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

The method of the present invention in general comprises holding an article of laundry which is heaped in a pile of random configuration at an area of single thickness, and passing a current of air over the surfaces of the article radially in all directions from the point at which the article is held until the article is unraveled into planar form. More particularly, the article is held be tween a pair of vertically aligned nozzles from which the air emanates in all directions from the ends of the nozzles. Also, conveyor means are provided to carry the individual piles of the articles to the nozzles and to carry the articles in a planar form from the nozzles. In addition, a thin cushion of air may be provided on which the article rests during the arrangement of the article.

Refer to the drawing which illustrates an apparatus 10 for carrying out the method of the present invention and which apparatus is referred to as a planing apparatus since it arranges the articles of laundry to a planar form.

Planing apparatus 10 comprises a horizontal table 12 having a pair of horizontally extending rectangular plates 14 and 16 secured in vertically spaced, parallel relation between a pair of horizontally extending, parallel side rails 18 and 20. The side rails 18 and 20 are supported above the floor on suitable legs or a frame, not shown. The plates 14 and 16 have vertically aligned openings 22 and 24 respectively through the centers thereof (see FIG. 2). Top plate 14 has a plurality of small holes 26 therethrough. As shown in FIG. 1, the holes 26 are arranged in a plurality of concentric circles around the opening 22. The top plate 14 may also have a plurality of narrow, shallow grooves 28 in its top surface for guiding endless conveyor belts described below. The grooves 28 are arranged in spaced, parallel arrangement across the width of the top plate and extend from one end of the top plate to its other end between the holes 26.

A plurality of circular manifold tubes 30 are secured to the bottom surface of the top plate 14. Each of the manifold tubes 30 is positioned in alignment with a separate set of the circularly arranged holes 26, and is open to its respective set of holes 26. An air feeder pipe 32 extends through the side rail 20 and is connected to each of the manifold tubes 30. The feeder pipe 32 is connected to a suitable means for providing air under pressure, such as a fan or pump not shown, so as to feed the air through the manifold tubes 30 to the holes 26. However, instead of the manifold tubes 3-0, the plates '14 and 16 may be connected together to form a sealed chamber therebetween with the feeder pipe 32 supplying the air to the chamber.

A pair of parallel shafts 34 and 36 extend between the plates 14 and 16 at the ends of the plates, and are rotatably supported in bearings 38 on the side rails 18 and 20 (see FIG. 1). A plurality of pulleys 40 are mounted in spaced relation on the shaft 34, and a plurality of pulleys 42 are mounted in spaced relation on the shaft 36. The number of pulleys 40 and 42 on the shafts 34 and 36 is equal to the number of grooves 28 in the top plate 14, and the pulleys 40 and 42 are positioned in alignment with the grooves 28. A plurality of narrow endless belts 44 extend around the table 12 and extend from one end of the table to its other end. Each of the belts 44 rides in a separate one of the grooves 28 in the top plate 14 and extends around a separate set of aligned pulleys 40 and 42. A clutched motor 46 is connected to the shaft 36 to rotate the shaft 36 and thereby move the belts 44 across the top plate 14.

A pneumatic cylinder 48 is mounted above the table 12, and a pneumatic cylinder 50 is mounted below the table 12. The pneumatic cylinders 48 and 50 are mounted with their axes in vertical alignment with each other and with the openings 22 and 24 in the table plates 14 and 16. The pneumatic cylinder 48 is supported on a bracket 52 which extends across the width of the top plate 14 and is mounted on the side rails 18 and 20. The pneumatic cylinder 50 is supported on a bracket 54 which extends across the width of the bottom plate 16 and is mounted on the side rails 18 and 20. The piston rods 56 and 58 of the pneumatic cylinders 48 and 50 respectively extend toward the table 12. Tubular nozzles 60 and 62 are secured to the ends of the piston rods 56 and 58 respectively in vertical alignment therewith. The ends of the nozzles 60 and 62 are frusto-conical and have a plurality of circumferentially spaced holes 64 and 66 respectively in the conical surfaces thereof. Tubes 68 and 70 extend into the nozzles 60 and 62 respectively and are connected to a suitable source of air under pressure so as to feed the air to and through the nozzles. The pneumatic cylinders 48 and 50 are so positioned and the strokes of the piston rods 56 and 58 are such that upon being extended the end of the nozzle 60 extends to the upper surface of the top plate 14 and the end of the nozzle 62 extends through the openings 24 and 22 in the table plates 16 and 14 to the upper surface of the top plate 14.

A shaft 72 is rotatably supported between the side rails 18 and 20 adjacent the shaft 34. A wide conveyor belt 74 extends around and is driven by the shaft 72. The conveyor belt 74 extends to the location in the laundry where the articles of laundry are singled out from piles of washed and dried laundry for delivery to the planing apparatus. Thus, the conveyor belt 74 serves to deliver the articles of laundry to the table 12. A motor 76 is connected to the shaft 72 to drive the conveyor belt 74. A shaft 78 is also rotatably supported between the side rails 18 and 20 adjacent the shaft 36. A Wide conveyor belt 80 extends around and is driven by the shaft 78. The conveyor belt 80 extends to a place in the laundry where further operations are performed on the articles of laundry, such as where the ironing machines or the place for folding the articles are located. Thus, the conveyor belt 80 serves to carry the articles of laundry from the table 12 to the next operation. A motor 82 is connected to the shaft 78 to drive the conveyor belt 80.

In the operation of the planing apparatus 10, the individual articles of laundry, either damp dry as they come from the washer or completely dry as they come from the dryer, are individually positioned in piles of random configuration on the center of the conveyor belt 74 with the articles being spaced from each other along the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt 74 carries the first article to the table 12. At the table 12 the article of laundry is transferred to the belts 44 by the conveyor belt 74 which is positioned proximate to and moves the article onto the belts 44 of the table 12. The belts 44 carry the article over the top plate 14 and between the nozzles 60 and 62. When an area of the article of single thickness comes between the nozzles 60 and 62 the movement of the belts 44 is stopped. Conveyor belt 74 may also be stopped until the next article is to be delivered to the table 12.

At this time the following operations occur in rapid succession. Air is admitted into the pneumatic cylinders 48 and 50 so as to move the nozzles 60 and 62 together until they clamp the article of laundry therebetween. Air is admitted through the feeder pipe 32, manifold tubes 30 and holes 26 in the top plate 14 so as to form a thin cushion of air on the top plate 14. Air is then passed through the tubes 68 and 70, nozzles 60 and 6-2 and out through the holes 64 and 66 in the ends of the nozzles. This provides a flow of air over the surfaces of the article of laundry which fiow extends radially in all directions from the nozzles 60 and 62. This flow of air causes the 4 article of laundry to unravel and arranges the article into planar form. t

When the article of laundry is in planar form, the following operations occur. The flow of air through the holes 26 in the top plate 14 is stopped to discontinue the air cushion and cause the article of laundry to rest on the top plate 14. The flow of air through the nozzles 60 and 62 is discontinued and the pneumatic cylinders 48 and 50 are actuated to move the nozzles 60 and 62 away from each other. The drive to the belts 44 is engaged and the article of laundry in planar form is carried from the table 12 to the conveyor belt which carries the article to the next operation. The next article of laundry is then delivered to the table 12 and the planing operation is repeated.

It should be understood that the controls for controlling the flow of air to the pneumatic cylinders 48 and 50, the nozzles 60 and 62 and the holes 26 in the top plate 14, and for controlling the drive of the belts 44, 74 and 80 can be connected to a timing and sequencing mechanism for actuating the various controls at the proper time and sequence to automatically perform the various operations described above once the planing apparatus is actuated. Also, the planing apparatus 10 can be provided with a sensing device which senses when an area of the article of laundry of single thickness comes between the nozzles 60 and 62 and which then stops the drive of the belts 44 to start the cycle of the operation of the apparatus. Thus, there is provided by the present invention a method and apparatus for automatically arranging an article of laundry which is in a pile of random configuration to a planar form.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of straightening an article of laundry which is arranged in random nonplanar configuration to a planar form comprising the steps of holding the article by clamping at a point of single thickness and passing a current of air across a surface of the article from the point that the article is held until the article is unraveled to substantially planar form.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the current of air is passed across the surface of the article directed radially from the point that the article is held.

3. The method of claim 2 including passing currents of air over both surfaces of the article from the point that the article is held.

4. The method of claim 3 including providing a cushion of air on which the article rests while the currents of air are passed over the surfaces of the article.

5. Apparatus for straightening individual articles of laundry which are arranged individually in random nonplanar configuration to a planar form comprising a horizontal table, means for holding by clamping an article of laundry which rests on said table in a random nonplanar configuration, and means for providing a current of air over a surface of the article directed radially from said holding means.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including means for carrying and periodically delivering an article of laundry over said table to said holding means for straightening to planar form and periodically away from said holding means.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including means for providing a cushion of air over the surface of said table.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which the means for holding the article and providing the current of air over the surface of the article comprises a tubular nozzle vertically mounted over the table, said nozzle having a plurality of circumferentially spaced openin s therethrough at its lower end, means for providing a How of air through the nozzle, and means for moving the nozzle to and away from the top surface of the table.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 including means for providing a cushion of air over the surface of said table.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 including a second tubular nozzle mounted below the table in vertical alignment with said first nozzle, said second nozzle having a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings therethrough at its upper end, means for providing a flow of air through said second nozzle, the table having an opening therethrough in alignment with said nozzles, and means for moving said second nozzle to and away from the top surface of said table.

11. Apparatus in accordance with claim 10 including means for providing a cushion of air over the surface of said table.

12. Apparatus in accordance with claim 11 including means for carrying the article of laundry over the table comprising a plurality of narrow endless belts extending around the table in spaced parallel relation and means for driving said belts.

13. Apparatus in accordance with claim 12 in which the means for providing the cushion of air comprises a plurality of spaced holes in the table extending to the top surface of the table, Said holes being positioned between the belts, and means for providing a flow of air through said holes.

14. Apparatus in accordance with claim 13 including a conveyor for carrying the articles of laundry arranged in random nonplanar configuration for periodic delivery to the table for straightening to planar form, and another conveyor for periodically receiving and carrying the articles of laundry in planar form away from the table.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,912,724 6/1933 Remington 38-143X 3,168,307 2/1965 Walton et al 38-143X 3,386,192 6/1968 Fornaciari 38143 3,436,853 4/1969 Buss 38-143 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 271-26 

